News

Assault on education could lead to educator shortages

While teachers are known for their patience, even they may not have the patience to tolerate the General Assembly's all out attack on public education. North Carolina no longer has the environment to attract and retain quality educators it once did. Stagnant pay, increasing class size, and the elimination of a teacher recruiting program may lead to teacher shortages if nothing changes.

As a consequence, North Carolina faces several critical challenges with respect to its teacher workforce. Since fall 2010, enrollment in UNC system teacher education programs – the largest supplier of teachers in the state – has fallen 28 percent, from 23,600 to 17,100 enrollees. The Department of Public Instruction’s teacher turnover analyses show that district-level teacher attrition rates increased from 11.1 to 14.1 percent over that same period. This means that North Carolina school districts had to fill nearly 3,000 additional teaching positions in 2013-14.

Drops in teacher education enrollments and increases in teacher attrition, combined with a growing K-12 student population, mean that North Carolina will soon face a shortage of teachers, particularly in hard-to-staff schools and subject areas. Schools will need to fill open positions with demonstrably less effective options.